Mississippi
Congress hears about plight of Black Delta farmers featured in Mississippi Today investigation
The struggles of Black farm staff within the Mississippi Delta dropping jobs and being paid decrease wages than white visitor staff had been introduced in entrance of a U.S. congressional committee on Wednesday.
Mississippi legal professional Ty Pinkins traveled to the nation’s capital to testify in entrance of the Home Training and Labor Committee, which is inspecting the H-2A and H-2B farm staff visa packages. The H-2A program was the main focus of a current Mississippi Right now investigation that discovered a number of farmers misusing it to underpay and push out Black staff from their jobs in favor of staff from South Africa.
“Regardless of all of the legal guidelines and laws designed to guard American staff in opposition to unfair competitors, native farm staff within the Delta have been displaced as space farmers every year import increasingly more international staff,” Pinkins testified.
Pinkins, a retired Military officer and son of a Delta farm employee, has labored carefully with Black staff preventing discrimination in Delta. He has helped file two discrimination lawsuits in opposition to Mississippi farms with extra within the pipeline.
“Absent main modifications in the best way the H-2A program is run and its guidelines enforced, there received’t be one other American technology of native Black farm staff within the Delta,” Pinkins instructed representatives.
Pinkins additionally referenced Mississippi Right now’s intensive reporting throughout his five-minute testimony.
READ MORE: Exploited: White Delta farm house owners are underpaying and pushing out Black staff
Close to the listening to’s finish, the main focus got here again to Mississippi after audio system lined the situations from Georgia to the Carlonias and California.
Rep. Mark Takano, a Democrat from California, appeared shocked on the testimony. He had heard of international staff being introduced in and paid much less cash than native staff, he stated, however not the other.
“You’re telling me that these H-2A employers are paying, particularly white South African staff, greater than the native Black workforce? Assist me perceive as a result of it’s clearly not financial causes,” he stated to Pinkins.
“This doesn’t make sense from a enterprise perspective,” Pinkins stated in his response.
“So, the one frequent denominator right here is race.”
Pinkins stated following the 90-minute listening to, he was glad he was in a position to make that time on the finish.
Along with Pinkins, three different consultants testified: Daniel Costa, an immigration legal professional and researcher with the Financial Coverage Institute; Teresa Romero the president of the United Farm Staff; and Leon Sequeira, an legal professional who works carefully with farm house owners and served as an assistant secretary of labor beneath George W. Bush.
Wednesday’s listening to had a back-and-forth partisan rhythm, with a transparent divide in views on the packages’ points and the problems going through the farming workforce at giant. Republican representatives repeatedly emphasised their issues over the variety of undocumented staff getting into the nation.
“President Biden’s border disaster hangs over this listening to,” stated Rep. Fred Keller, a Republican from Pennsylvania. “It’s a self-made catastrophe that’s endangering hundreds of thousands and making a humanitarian disaster. We can’t meaningfully talk about reforming the H-2 packages whereas our border is broad open and being overrun.”
The H-2A program is designed to fill gaps within the workforce when farmers can’t discover sufficient U.S. staff to fill seasonal jobs.
Democrats on Wednesday had been involved in regards to the findings in “Operation Blooming Onion,” which a Georgia U.S. district legal professional referred to as “modern-day slavery.” Investigators say a smuggling ring misused the H-2A program to visitors and abuse greater than 200 staff from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to work on onion farms.
The issues going through native Delta staff could also be completely different, however are stemming from the identical visa program. Mississippi Right now’s investigation farms usually made no effort to convey again Black staff who had labored earlier seasons, preferring the white H-2A staff from South Africa.
READ MORE: U.S. Labor Secretary assures Black Delta staff his workplace will fight racist hiring practices utilized by white farmers
Within the situations within the Delta, it was the native staff — who’re usually Black — being affected negatively by misuse of this system.
Greater than 90% of H-2A staff come from Mexico. South Africans make up about 3% of this system, in line with knowledge from the U.S. Division of Labor.
“These packages don’t replicate their meant objective,” stated Rep. Alma Adams, a Democrat from North Carolina, who chairs the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. “As an alternative, these packages are a relic of slavery. Collectively we should reform the H-2 visa packages to make sure that all staff are handled with dignity and respect.”
Sequeira, who dealt with coverage on Bush’s crew, spoke to the vast majority of farms following this system’s guidelines. He stated lots of his shoppers have gotten wrapped up in audits for minor offenses that over burden them.
Pinkins instructed Mississippi Right now following the listening to that he felt Republican representatives weren’t taking the happenings within the Delta critically.
Pinkins pointed to Sequeira’s written testimony, which said that H-2A staff don’t hurt U.S. staff.
“They’re principally simply blind with reference to detrimental results the H-2A program is having on Black farm staff within the Delta,” Pinkins instructed Mississippi Right now. “They had been principally saying, ‘As a result of a small share are misusing the H-2A program, it’s OK. A spot just like the Mississippi Delta? We don’t care about that small group of farmers.’”
He stated a lot of the listening to felt prefer it was diverting away from the central points. Nonetheless, he’s desirous to see what the committee determines.
Rep. Adams ended the listening to by saying she appeared ahead to working with committee members on future laws to deal with employee discrimination and strengthening labor requirements.
READ MORE: Right here’s how we reported the story of Black farmers dropping out on jobs
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Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.
The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.
The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.
Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.
The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.
“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.
7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash
The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.
Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.
Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
Mississippi
This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football’s offense had a high-flying Saturday in coach Jeff Lebby’s first game.
It scored touchdowns on six of its first nine drives — one of which was a one-play kneel down to end the first half — leaving Eastern Kentucky buried early and deep at Davis Wade Stadium. It was a 56-7 win for the Bulldogs, with them leading 35-0 at one point in the first half.
Baylor transfer Blake Shapen was superb at quarterback and numerous wide receivers such as Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver Jr. and Creed Whittemore made big plays against EKU (0-1).
Even still, Lebby wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance.
“I think there was a whole lot of good,” Lebby said postgame. “Proud of our guys for their energy and their competitive spirit and toughness they played with, but there’s so many things to clean up. I think that’s the biggest takeaway is that you got a chance to go win the way we won, but we’re going to need to play better, play cleaner and that’s where we’re going to look forward to as we get back into it.”
Take Mississippi State’s third offensive drive as an example of where it can improve.
It was the Bulldogs first drive where they didn’t score points, even though it began at the MSU 46-yard line.
MSU (1-0) was penalized for an illegal formation on the first play of the drive, negating a 47-yard catch-and-run from Craver. Three plays later, after Shapen scrambled 12 yards for a first down, MSU was whistled for another illegal formation. Mississippi State then failed to convert on 4th-and-3 from the EKU 33-yard line.
Those were the only penalties committed by Mississippi State’s offense all night, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard of those types of MSU infractions. In the preseason, following Mississippi State’s first scrimmage that was closed to the public, Lebby noted that “non-playing penalties” were a work in progress.
Players have said that Lebby’s up-tempo pace has been an adjustment. Perhaps it’s one that’s still ongoing.
“Looking back at the game, we did a lot of good things, but there were a couple drives that we killed the drive,” Shapen said. “So, we can keep getting better. I think an emphasis for me is just to let everybody know that we haven’t arrived or anything. We got a lot more to prove, especially going in to play a good Arizona State team next week.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Arizona State might be better than anticipated
MSU’s Week 2 game at Arizona State (9:30 p.m., ESPN) was always going to be its most challenging in the nonconference schedule, but it looks even more so now.
Arizona State routed Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils were about a seven-point favorite entering the game in Tempe, and Wyoming, historically, is no cakewalk in the Group of 5. It was an impressive statement from second-year coach Kenny Dillingham after a 4-9 season in 2023.
The Sun Devils (1-0) scored two defensive touchdowns, forced three turnovers and held Wyoming (0-1) to 118 total yards of offense. Sixty-two of those yards came in the fourth quarter with the game already well decided.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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